Month: April 2016

Posted in Book Reviews

Joyland

Posted on by Little Bee

joyland

Joyland by Stephen King, Narrated by Michael Kelly

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars

Narrator Rating: 5 Stars

 

I picked up this story on Audible to listen on a work trip. My unconventional book club’s theme is to pick a book off a list/flow chart provided, and I decided, since I have never ever read a Stephen King story, I would like to get a good start somewhere.

First, this story is classified on two different genre subtypes on Goodreads, Suspense/Thriller and Coming of Age. On the flow chart provided, it was indicated as a Suspense. This is really where I want to start my review:

My expectations for Joyland were more along the line of It, and Pet Semetary. To me, that is what suspense/thriller means. However, that is not what this story was. This story is about a young college student, Devin Jones, getting a summer job at Joyland theme park in North Carolina. Devin discovers that a few years prior, there was a murder on one of the rides and no one was ever caught. He was also informed that at some point in time, he would come across two children: a girl and a boy, and of these two children one would have the “sight.” Devin Jones has his heart broken by his first love and this adventure shows him how to move on and provides life experiences that any college kid would be lucky to have. The only real suspense in the story is about a chapter, when he discovers who the Carnival Killer was. I kind of pegged this person, but really was leaning on a different character. I will let you decide who is who.

This book was wonderfully narrated. It took me a couple of hours to really get into the book as a whole, but once it got going, it was really brilliant. The story really  hits on all the feels you want in a book. My wish was that, for a classification of suspense, that there was more suspense in the book, beyond the short info at the tail end of the story.

I will read Stephen King again. I really like the versatility of King’s writings. I really enjoy discussing this book with my fellow book clubbers!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Three Kings For Sarah

Posted on by Little Bee

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Three Kings for Sarah by Noa Xireau

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

I received this book in exchange for my honest review:

I really enjoyed this book. I want to point out, it is MMMF/menage/ erotica. If you cannot handle sexy scenes, then this book is not for you. BUT! If you do like some pretty sweet sexy times in an alternate reality full of vampires, native american dream walkers, werewolves, and magicians, well my friend…this book is for you!

I know what you are asking yourself, “If you liked the book, then why only a 4 star rating?” For majority of the story, I was super sucked into it. HOWEVER, there were a few things that made it somewhat difficult to me while I read. First, there were times I did not know who was speaking. I had to re-read some dialogues a few times and try to figure out who was speaking. Sometimes, someone who was not a part of the dialogue, suddenly appeared in the there. Second,there seemed to be some sentence structures that did not make sense. I believe this is because maybe translation from Spanish to English might have been the cause of this. It didn’t occur often, but when it did, I had to read a few times to get it sorted.  Finally, I felt the climax of the story could have had more to it. It just kind of ended. I would have loved to know why the Wizards were trying to siphon out Sarah’s life force anyways.

Overall, the story was interesting, entertaining, and sexy as hell! And personally, that is the most important. No one is perfect and the story was entertaining as a whole. The summary of the book provided on Goodreads is pretty spot on so I won’t go into it any further. If you are a fan of erotica, or would like to try some new erotica, this book is definitely recommended.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Wicked Will Rise

Posted on by Little Bee

The Wicked Will Rise

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

First, let me explain, that I think 3 stars is being pretty generous. I have had a lot of hope for this series, I really have. My issue with this story, is similar to my issues with Dorothy Must Die, in that a LOT of information was given, and none of it was necessary. In fact, this book was 293 pages of What the hell?, and felt pointless.

This review is going to be super short. Like, so short it is less than 200 words short. I want to not give any spoilers, even though there aren’t really any spoilers to give. However, of all the ways I could have predicted this book ending, how it ended, was not even on the radar. I am really not sure where this story is going. It is not that I want a predictable story, but these stories goes from point A to point Z and not hit any points in between. I cannot remember the last time I felt this confused and this frustrated from reading a book or series. I feel it held a lot of promise, but somewhere it is just not connecting.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Ask and The Answer

Posted on by Little Bee

The Ask and The Answer

The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness

Narrated by Nick Podehl and Angela Dawe

Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars

Narrated Rating: 4 Stars

 

The Ask and The Answer is the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. If you read my review of The Knife of Never Letting Go, I was left devastated and not wanting to continue on. The Ask and The Answer did not crush my soul so it was pleasant and I will not wait a year and half before reading the finale, Monsters of Men.

The Answer is a terrorist group (let’s face it that is what they are) that was originated by women during earlier wars. When Mayor Prentis took over Haven, and became a tyrant of a President, The Answer reformed and began bombing buildings, grain houses, wells, etc in order to restrict the town and the people within. Mayor Prentis (Now President Prentis) created a response to The Answer called The Ask. Part of The Ask was a process called The Asking, in which men would torture a captive in order to get answers about The Answer.

I won’t give away any endings, or anything significant. I did like this one. There was a LOT of manipulation and attempting to turn Todd and Viola against each other. I like that there was a lot of growth for Todd and Viola.

As expected, Nick Podehl is amazing. Angela Dawes as Viola had a whiney voice. It made it sound like Viola whined the ENTIRE story.

 

 

Posted in Spicy Romance

Monster on the Mountain

Posted on by Little Bee

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Monster on the Mountain by Aurora Russell

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

This is the first Aurora Russell story I have read, and I can guarantee it will not be my last. I want to point out, this book has a LOT of sex. A LOT. So, if extremely sexy books are not your thing, this book is not for you.  The scenes are VERY explicit. So if your delicate sensibilities are too sensitive, this will shock you and make you blush.

What I liked about this book is that for paranormal erotica, it is original. The Monster is a hybrid shifter of bear and Siberian tiger. By being a double blooded hybrid shifter, his senses are double that of a normal shifter: he hears more, he smells more, he feels more. There are those who believe these double blooded shifters should be killed at birth and others who are more open to the hybrids. What is similar about this love story and other paranormal love stories, the connection is instant. Like other sifters, the monster, Kristoff, knows his mate the moment he meets her.

This story is about a monster that saved the girl. Bad guys who try to kill the monster. Bad guys steal the girl. Monster gets mad (and you dont like him when he’s mad 😉 ). Monster saves girl. Monster leaves girl because his life will cause her danger forever. Girl gets mad. Girl goes to monster. Monster realizes he is an idiot. Monster and girl live forever happy. The end. After almost every serious scene, there is a sexy scene. As generic as the above paragraph sounds, that combination can make for a great story if the monster is well developed, the threat is significant, and the girl is worth it. Aurora Russell takes this story line and provides all the correct elements to make it a fantastic love story.

Monster on the Mountain is a quick read, I read it in one day. It has action, adventure, paranormal, love, sex. Everything to make a story great. There are a couple loose ends though, and I would like them cleared up 🙂 Though I am not in a position to make demands. I am curious if there will be another book, if not with Kristoff and Adelaide, but maybe the other characters in the story, and Kristoff and Adelaide can make an appearance to answer some of my burning questions….liiiike….is SHE PREGNANT?!?!?!?